On September 15th, Bayer CropScience Vegetable Seeds colleagues gathered in celebration of the opening of the new Phytotron building in Acampo, CA.
The new building houses 10 phytotrons for growing plants. Phytotrons are growth chambers that provide optimal conditions of light, temperature, and relative humidity for development of diseases of crops, such as tomato and watermelon. The more precise and reproducible control of the environment are critical to disease resistance breeding. Tests can be conducted year-round in the Phytotron building, and with more reproducibility than in the greenhouse.
The building has been outfitted with many advanced and sustainable features. One of the uniquely sustainable features is a high-tech wastewater filtration system, which filters the used building water, which is then entered into a storage tank for landscape irrigation use on the facility grounds. LED lighting is also featured throughout the growing chambers for energy efficiency, uses less toxic materials and is longer lasting. The building will be in full effect in quarter 4 of this year.
“During the tour of the new building, the phytopathology team couldn’t help but brag to our colleagues about the capabilities of our new building. Now, we’re eager to demonstrate how valuable this investment is for conducting good research,“ says Mark Ricker, tomato pathologist.
For more information, visit www.nunhemsusa.com